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Any of you got a Kiesel 4-string with a Hipshot detuner? Just wondering how well it works. Pondering what to do for a build. Got to thinking that instead of an AB5 I would do just as well with an AB4. Besides, 12-inch fingerboard radius isn't a standard option for the AB5. I wouldn't have need of a detuner on a 5-string, but can envision putting one to a lot of use on a 4-string. One thing I'm particularly curious about though is what happens to the detune pitch if the standard pitch goes out of tune. For instance, after tuning the 4th string to E and then setting the detune pitch to D, what happens to the detune pitch if the E goes out of tune? Is there a direct corresponding relationship of detune pitch to standard pitch? Or for that matter, what if, after setting the standard pitch to E and detune pitch to D, I were to change the standard pitch to D? Would the detune pitch change to C? Or might it be slightly out of tune, requiring a reset?

The pitch should drop by a certain amount of tension, which corresponds directly but not linearly to pitch. A full step (E to D) corresponds to a certain amount of tension that is different to the full step between D and C, for example. If your E is out of tune (say a little flat from playing hard) your D will be sharp by a corresponding (but not the same) amount.

HarlowTheFish wrote:... A full step (E to D) corresponds to a certain amount of tension that is different to the full step between D and C, for example. ...

That just occurred to me and so I came back in to edit my post, only to see that you beat me to it in answering that question. Question remains as to how well it works. Thanks.

Reviews say it works as well as you set it up, other than minor detuning from the neck reacting to the reduced tension. With Kiesel's neck reinforcements and especially if you also get a multi-piece neck, it shouldn't really be more than a couple of cents either way, if that.

I've installed them on several basses and they work very well. I first bought one because the guy I was playing with at the time wrote a lot of songs in D and G. One thing though: remember to reset it when the tune you're playing isn't in drop D. I have a live recording where I forgot to do this!

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